Nordic Film Crossing Borders

Report on Distribution & Sales of Nordic Films 2009-2013

Nordisk Film & TV Fond Presents

NORDIC FILM CROSSING BORDERS

Nordic Film Crossing Borders

Behind the Buzz 4Behind the Numbers 6Nordisk Film & TV Fond - Top Financier 7

1. NORDIC CINEMA TRENDS 8Local Quality Content and Declining Admissions 8Marjo Pipinen: What Makes a Film Nordic? 9Digitalisation and Cinemas 10Denmark and Danish feature films 12Finland and Finnish Feature Films 14Iceland and Icelandic Feature Films 18Norway and Norwegian Feature Films 20Sweden and Swedish Feature Films 22

2.NORDIC FILM SUCCESS 24Nordic Films Crossing Borders 24John M. Jacobsen: Outcasts in Their Neighbouring Countries 25Nordic Films in Denmark 26Nordic Films in Finland 27Nordic Films in Iceland 28Nordic Films in Norway 29Nordic Films in Sweden 30Most Popular Feature Films in the Nordic Countries 32

3. INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF NORDIC FILM 36World-wide Success of Nordic Films 36Ib Bondebjerg: The Nordic Film and Television Wave 37Danish Films International Success 38Finnish Films International Success 40Icelandic Films International Success 42Norwegian Films International Success 44Swedish Films International Success 46Nordic Films International Sales and Festival Success 48Nordic Films at Nordic Festivals 52

4. FOCUS ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH FILM 54Nordic Characteristics of Children and Youth Film 54Silje Hopland Eik: Making Nordic Children and Youth Films Succeed Across Borders 55Danish Children and Youth Film 56Finnish Children and Youth Film 57Icelandic Children and Youth Film 58Norwegian Children and Youth Film 59Swedish Children and Youth Film 60International Success of Children and Youth Film 61Nordic Children and Youth Film Successes 66

5. FOCUS ON DOCUMENTARY FILM 68Nordic Characteristics of Documentary Films 68Karolina Lidin: Where Are the Nordic Hit Documentaries? 69Danish Documentaries 70Finnish Documentaries 71Icelandic Documentaries 72Norwegian Documentaries 73Swedish Documentaries 74International Success of Documentary Film 75Nordic Documentary Successes 80

6. CONCLUSION 84Jakob Kirstein Hgel: In a Wondrous State 84Johanna Koljonen: Finding a New Place in the Ecosystem 85Data Collecting and Its Challenges 86Conclusion 87

INDEX

Nordic Film Crossing Borders

Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 4 Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 5

IntroductionIntroduction

INTRODUCTION

Behind the BuzzBuzz around the Golden Age of Nordic Films, Nordic Noir in TV and the Global Impact of Nordic documentaries have been discussion topics for some time now. We have won Oscars and prizes at major film and TV festivals, huge pan-Nordic and international audiences have tuned in and sales of our films and TV series to foreign territories have grown.

Thanks to films and television dramas, moving pictures of Nordic cultures and values have been spread widely throughout the world.

Looking at facts and figures is a way of delving deeper into the details of how successful our storytellers actually are. That is why we started an ambitious data collection project on admissions, TV-ratings, festival visits and sales of Nordic film and TV projects in spring 2014.

The year 2009 was a natural starting point, since that year we at Nordisk Film & TV Fond initiated a substantial change in our distribution support measures. Selected distributors that were releasing several non-national Nordic titles in cinemas could receive slate support from us. During 2010-2012 we also received additional allocation from The Nordic Council of Ministers Kreanord pool to encourage distributors abroad to pick up Nordic titles.

It can clearly be noted that the number of Nordic titles distributed in neighbouring Nordic countries has steadily grown. Still, certain logic remains: a good number of films are purely aimed at the national audience. Since the Fund demands distribution or pre-sale in at least two

Nordic countries, national films do not really fall into our remit. It is, however, interesting to have a look at what are the most popular stories of national importance.

The Funds support covers more than 250 films between 2009 and 2013. This includes documentaries that usually are shown at festivals and on TV. Yet 80% of these films had a cinema release and more than a half of them in at least two Nordic countries. This reports peek at the qualitative data is extremely interesting: which titles have actually travelled, pleased audiences and been sold.

The report is based on data of films and documentaries from 2009 to 2013. In the world of multiple platforms, the next step would be to look at the audience numbers on TV. From the few bits and pieces of information we already know that Nordic television audiences have indeed grown to appreciate content from the neighbours much more than before.

The Nordisk Film & TV Fond celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. During these years we have financially supported over 1,400 films with a total sum of NOK 1.6 billion. This report nicely presents concrete proof that these amounts have made a difference in terms of reaching Nordic and global audiences.

Petri KemppinenCEO

Nordic Fiction Films in Cinema 2009-2013

Had screening in cinema: 524

Had screening in more than one country: 117

Had no cinema screening: 28

Total amount of films: 552

Including children & youth films, Documentary films excluded

95%

5%

21%

Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 7Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 6

Nordisk Film & TV Fond was established in 1990 to promote high quality film and TV productions in the Nordic Countries by allocating funding for Nordic feature films, TV fiction and series, and creative documentaries. The Fund is backed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the five Nordic film institutes and 11 Nordic television channels, but it makes its decisions independently. To get funding, the project must have a significant audience potential primarily in the Nordic countries and secondarily in the global market. Projects for children and youth are given priority.

The Fund also supports a wide range of film-cultural initiatives, which aims to support the Nordic film and TV industry to create networks between professionals around the world as well as build bridges between established industry and newcomers. One of the Funds own annual events, Nordic Talents, specifically targets

this goal by creating a meeting point for fresh film graduates and professionals.

Another of the Funds objectives is helping professionals to improve and develop their knowledge and skills. Special development projects like the recent High Five Cross Media Content for Kids and Nordic Genre Boost can be initiated.

In 2005, the Nordic Council Film Prize was established and Oslo-based Nordisk Film & TV Fond became its administrator. The goal for this prestigious prize is to strengthen the Nordic cultural community and develop the Nordic region as a cultural home market. In time, the nominated films will benefit from the Film Prize culturally and commercially.The Fund also promotes distribution and versioning of Nordic films in the region.The Fund provides support in a form of top financing. In 2014 it supported 120 projects with NOK 84,6 million.

Top Financier

Nordic films 2009-2013

Films by Category Films by Country

Documentary: 295

Children and Youth film: 129

Other: 423


Denmark: 204 Norway: 155

Finland: 164 Sweden: 258

Iceland: 66


*All percentages rounded to the nearest whole number.

Total Amount of Films

847

Films Supported by NFTF

31%(264 films)

Supported Films Premiered in Cinemas

81 %(213 films)

30%24%

8%

18%19%

50% 35%

15%

Introduction

There has been great interest and need for independent and comprehensive statistical research about Nordic film distribution and sales. This report compiles Nordic film statistics in a depth that has never been seen before. The data covers over 800 titles premiered in 2009-2013.

The statistics were collected between April 2014 and February 2015 from Nordic film institutes and foundations, international sales companies and producers, who were the key contributors and made this study possible. The hand-picked and organised statistics are at the core of this study, whose results are presented in this report.

The perspective of this report moves from the local to pan-Nordic and finally worldwide successes of Nordic film. The report is divided into six chapters. At first, the focus is on the national characteristics of Nordic film. The second chapter is an overview of Nordic cinema trends and a dive to Nordic film successes: which film

productions were the most successful among the Nordic audiences. Nordic numbers lead us to the international successes and more specific analysis of children and youth films and documentary hits.

In the beginning of each chapter, you can find a column from a visiting writer. These texts represent different points of view to the film world and hopefully, together with the statistical findings and analysis, inspires thinking and future conversations as well as decision-making.

This report, Nordic Film Crossing Borders, is printed for the stakeholders and organisations who helped create it, and accessible online for everyone. The report and more statistics are available on www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com.

Sara KeskinarkausProject Researcher

Behind the Numbers

INTRODUCTION

Introduction


Nordic Cinema Trends

Marjo Pipinen: What Makes a Film Nordic?Nordic films have a peculiar sense of humour.It may be laconic, like (Le Havre), black (A Somewhat Gentle Man), intelligent (I Belong), outrageous (Klovn: the Movie) or it may have something to do with horses (Of Horses and Men) but you are sure to recognize it as Nordic. Nordic comedies are not afraid to make you feel awkward, embarrassed, or even nauseous, and when the end credits roll, youll find yourself pretty damn happy about it.

Nordic films tackle painful issues.Nordic filmmakers are a brave bunch: they highlight global concerns and are not afraid of exposing their own vulnerabilities. They find stories that are not often told (Eat Sleep Die), or get people to open up about the stories they probably didnt even know should be told (Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart). There are stories that are common to all of our countries (The Orheim Company), and films that remind us that there is a whole world outside this little corner of ours (Concerning Violence).

Nordic films are about identity crises.The relatively peaceful life the Nordic countries have enjoyed has made the ground fertile for some hard-core introspection: What is it like to be human in todays world? And what is my place in the world? The questions often arise from a life-changing event (Blind, Metalhead), while some films play out an identity crisis of the society as a whole (Play, The Hunt). In others, the human condition itself has enough fuel for creating a gripping story (She Monkeys, Concrete Night).

Nordic film is a myth.The truth about Nordic films is that there is no truth. Some films feel like they could not have been made anywhere else in the world (The Reunion), some tell universal stories (In a Better World). The countries and their films are so diverse that any generalization fails in some way. That is why we need to keep our doors and borders open so that all kinds of filmmakers can come and go: we never know where the next great Nordic film is going to be made, by whom, and what kind of a story it tells.

Marjo PipinenProgrammerHelsinki International Film Festival

1 European Audiovisual Observatory, Focus 2014 - World Film Market Trends. Calculated on a pro-forma basis for the 28 EU member states as of 2014.


Nordic territories have maintained the reputation for producing successful local content, despite the fact that, like the rest of Europe, the market has been struggling with declining cinema admissions. Over 51 million cinema tickets were sold in 2013 in the Nordic region, which is a 4.3 percent decline from the previous year. In 2014, admissions dropped to 48.7 million.

The decline has been more rapid in the EU region: cinema admissions have decreased in the region more or less continuously the past years. In 2013, admissions dropped to 907.1 million tickets sold, which is the lowest level since 20051. Despite falling admissions, increasing ticket prices have kept the box

office growing, but in 2013 the profits were not sufficed and the EU gross box office declined for the first time since 2005.

The damages have so far stayed milder in the Nordic region with especially the local films having kept their strong position and even dominating the charts. In Denmark and Finland, local films drew a substantial 27 percent of the audience in 2014. In Finland this was an increase compared to the previous year. In Sweden, the share also had a slightly positive trend compared to the previous year, 25.1 percent market share. The market share of national films tends to fluctuate depending on the success of generally a few local blockbusters.

NORDIC CINEMA TRENDS01Local Quality Content and Declining Admissions

Country Admissions (in mio) GBO (in mio EUR) National Market Share

2009 2013 Change % 2009 2013 Change % 2009 2013Denmark 14.1 13.6 -3.5 138.1 141.0 2.1 17.3% 30.0%Finland 6.8 7.8 14.7 57.1 76.0 33.1 15.0% 23.0%Iceland* 1.6 1.4 -12.5 8.6 9.3 8.1 10.3% 3.1%Norway 12.7 11.8 -7.1 130.0 140.4 11.1 20.6% 22.8%Sweden 17.4 16.6 -8.1 145.4 190.1 30.7 32.7% 24.8%

*estimated

National market share includes minority co-productions in Denmark and Iceland Source: EAO


Nordic Countries and Cinema in a Nutshell

Denmark Finland Iceland Norway SwedenPopulation 2013 (million) 5.6 5.5 0.3 5.1 9.6Admissions 2013 (million) 13.6 7.8 1.4 11.8 16.6Admissions, local films 2013 (million) 4.1 1.8 0.04* 2.7 4.1Average admissions per capita 2013 2,4 1,4 4,3 2,3 1,7Number of cinemas 157 159 11 192 424Screens 405 282 - 422 774Digital screens 400 284 38 422 707Digital 3D screens 243 208 27 281 434Feature film first releases 2013 227 200 2 201 248New domestic releases 2013 28 36 - 26 49

*estimated

Of Horses and Men Hrossabrestur Ehf

Icelandic film sensation Of Horses and Men was awarded with The Nordic Council Film Prize in 2014.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Press3

Actor Robert Gustafsson (left) stars Swedish comedy hit The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.


Digitalisation and Cinemas

NORDIC CINEMA TRENDS

Digitalisation has changed each step of filmmaking from filming to distribution and introduced new platforms for watching films. New technology and the digitalisation of film has been seen mostly as a positive development. After a slow start, the conversion of cinemas to digital projection proceeded rapidly during this decade. Thanks to rapid uptake among leading circuits, by the end of 2011 more than half of Europes cinema screens were equipped for digital projection2. The Nordic countries were even more up to beat and adapted the new equipment and techniques even more faster than rest of the Europe, as a lot of hopes were set in.

Updating of course demanded investments, and two of the generally recognised downsides of digitalisation have been large initial investments and the increase of vulnerability for malfunctions in the cinemas, which has made especially single-screen cinemas struggle3.

Norway became the worlds first country to only have digital cinema technology in July 20114. In 2013, there were around 200 cinemas in Norway and the number of digital screens had grown slightly to 422 screens. Denmark, Finland and Norway got one hundred percent digitised in 2014, and Sweden was catching up rapidly.

Faster circulation of films and better availability are also generally recognised as the primary effects of digitisation. The number of released films has increased in many countries, but at the same time the amount of movie theatres and screens has decreased. Small cinemas and art-house theatres have reported to struggle with distribution and are saying that big blockbusters are taking over screens in the entire Nordic region.

Lastly, the recent falling revenues from the DVD market are challenging the traditional business models and as the cinemas and cinema-goers adapt new technologies and practices, the conversation of cinemas exclusivity and new distribution windows remains strong. While novelty factor of digital 3D blockbusters initially boosted underlying cinema attendance in 2009, admissions have been decreasing more or less continuously since then.

01

2 European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO), Press release, 18.01.2012. 3 EAO, Press release, 18.01.2012 and Aalto University, report, 2013. 4 Film & Kino, Cinemas article, 03.01.2012.



Top 10 Local Film Successes in Denmark in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in Denmark

1. - YES Clown Klovn - The Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard 838,8812. - - This Life Hvidsten Gruppen - Nogle 2012 Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis 754,824 m d for at andre kan leve 3. - YES The Keeper of Lost Causes Kvinden i buret 2013 Mikkel Nrgaard 690,8914. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg 651,8185. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier 631,9376. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel 515,9217. - - The Reunion Klassefesten 2011 Niels Nrlv Hansen 505,5888. - YES A Funny Man Dirch 2011 Martin Zandvliet 473,0429. - YES In a better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier 443,54210. C - Father of Four Far til fire - p japansk 2010 Claus Bjerre 418,638

Top 10 Danish Film Successes in the NordicsAdmission in the country of origin excluded

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in other Nordic countries

1. - YES In a better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier 227,0652. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg 126,5063. - YES Clown Klovn - The Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard 94,7864. - YES Melancholia Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier 92,0025. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel 83,3536. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier 69,7587. - YES Marie Kryer Marie Kryer 2012 Bille August 62,5418. D YES Armadillo Armadillo 2010 Janus Metz Pedersen 51,2569. - YES Antichrist Antichrist 2009 Lars von Trier 38,07510. C YES Freddy Frogface Orla Frsnapper 2011 Peter Dodd 21,186


Denmark and Danish feature films


Cinema-going in Denmark has stayed basically stable, and after a 33 percent record market share in 2012, Danish films continue their winning course. In 2013, four of top 5 films in the country were local films, led by director Mikkel Nrgaards crime thriller The Keeper of the Lost Causes (Kvinden i buret) and director Thomas Vinterbergs award-winning The Hunt (Jagten) with over 650,000 admissions. The Hunt was also among the European film successes of the year 20135 and the most popular Danish films in other Nordic countries.

In 2013 Denmark also achieved the highest market share for the local films (30%) in the Nordic countries through diversity6. The five biggest films of the year included a quality crime film, a drama, a childrens film, a comedy and a biopic. Similar pattern can

be recognized also from a longer period: the most successful films during the whole research period include feature-length films from childrens film to romantic comedy and thriller.

Local film successes were also popular among wider Nordic audience. For example, director Niels Nrlv Hansens comedy success The Reunion (Klassefesten, 2011) caught exceptional interest in Finland, and in February 2015 director Taneli Mustonens remake made history as Finlands all-time best domestic opener with 123,939 admissions from 126 screens.

01

5 The Hunt gathered over 850,000 admissions in Europe outside Denmark according to European Audiovisual Observatory statistics.6 In 2014 market share dropped to 27%.


C Children & Youth Film

D Documentary Film YES Supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond


Top 10 Local Film Successes in Finland in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in Finland

1. - - 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage 21 tapaa pilata avioliitto 2013 Johanna Vuoksenmaa 403,0452. - YES Lapland Odyssey Napapiirin sankarit 2010 Dome Karukoski 384,3923. C - Ricky Rapper and the Bicycle Thief Risto Rppj ja 2010 Mari Rantasila 328,224 polkupyrvaras

4. C - Ricky Rapper and Cool Wendy Risto Rppj ja 2012 Mari Rantasila 309,939 Viile Venla

5. - - Princess Prinsessa 2010 Arto Halonen 296,9396. - - Road North Tie Pohjoiseen 2012 Mika Kaurismki 265,7197. - - Hellsinki Rperi 2009 Aleksi Mkel 260,0208. - YES Rare Exports Rare Exports 2010 Jalmari Helander 252,4049. - - Backwood Philosopher Havukka-ahon ajattelija 2009 Kari Vnnen 222,70710. - YES Purge Puhdistus 2012 Antti Jokinen 210,013

Top 10 Finnish Film Successes in the NordicsAdmission in the country of origin excluded


1. - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki 66,5792. C YES Niko 2 - Little Brother, Big Trouble Niko 2 - lentjveljekset 2012 Kari Juusonen 61,4023. - YES Iron Sky Iron Sky 2012 Timo Vuorensola 60,8904. C YES Moomins and the Comet Chase Muumi ja punainen 2010 Maria Lindberg 25,734 pyrstthti

5. D YES Steam of Life Miesten vuoro 2010 Joonas Berghll & 12,991 Mika Hotakainen6. D YES Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart Laulu koti-ikvst 2013 Mika Ronkainen 8,0437. - YES Rare Exports Rare Exports 2010 Jalmari Helander 7,5548. - YES The House of Branching Love Haarautuvan rakkauden talo 2009 Mika Kaurismki 1,8119. - YES Lapland Odyssey Napapiirin sankarit 2010 Dome Karukoski 50110. D - Reindeerspotting Reindeerspotting 2010 Joonas Neuvonen 291


Finland and Finnish Feature Films


Despite the declining cinema admissions, the Finnish titles have been making records in recent years. In 2014, local films ended up controlling 27 percent of the market with more than two million tickets sold. This was the third best result for local titles since Finnish cinema statistics began in 1970.

The Finnish phenomenon of 2010s was the constantly improving success of documentaries, which captured all of 14 percent of the audience share of national films in 2013. Documentary films cinema audience more than doubled in 2012-2013 from 115,000 to 257,000 admissions. The audience magnet was Finnish Flash - A Teemu Selnne Story (2013), a documentary film about the national ice-hockey celebrity and idol, with 130,000 sold cinema tickets. Those numbers made it not only the national documentary hit, but also the biggest documentary film success in the Finnish cinemas so far.

Still, the Finnish audience in general favoured comedies and dramas. Director Johanna Vuoksenmaas comedy film 21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage (2013) had 403,000 admissions, which makes it the national cinema success of five years and the fifth most seen film of the 2000s.

Finnish film hits stayed mostly local hits as only two of top 10 films were introduced to wider Nordic cinema audience. The Nordic neighbours favoured documentaries, children animations and director Aki Kaurismkis award-winning Le Havre (2011), which was screened in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Director Jalmari Helanders innovative Christmas horror-story Rare Exports (2010) was the only title appearing on both the national and the Nordic top 10s.

01Nordic Cinema Trends


The Hunt Per Arnesen

The Hunt, an award-winning Danish drama about a kindergarten teacher accused of child abuse, had over 650,000 local admissions.


NORDIC CINEMA TRENDS01

Steam of Life Oktober Oy

One of the Finnish documentary successes of the period was intimate Steam of Life with over 49,000 local admissions and festival screenings in around 30 countries.

Headhunters Erik Aavatsmark Friland AS

Headhunters was one of the most popular Norwegian films in the Nordic region. It had also over 558,000 local admissions.



Top 10 Local Film Successes in Iceland in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in Iceland

1. - - Mr. Bjarnfredarson Bjarnfrearson 2009 Ragnar Bragason 66,8762. - YES Blacks Game Svartur leik 2012 skar Thr Axelsson 62,7833. - YES The Deep Djpi 2012 Baltasar Kormkur 50,2804. C - The Secret Spell Algjr Sveppi og 2010 Bragi r Hinriksson 37,506 dularfulla htelherbergi

5. - - Jhannes Jhannes 2009 orsteinn Gunnar Bjarnason 36,4176. C - The Big Rescue Algjr Sveppi og 2009 Bragi r Hinriksson 32,226 leitin a Villa

7. C - The Magic Wardrobe Algjr Sveppi og 2011 Bragi r Hinriksson 30,602 tfraskpurinn

8. C YES Legends of Valhalla - Thor Hetjur Valhallar - r 2011 skar Jnasson 24,0449. - - Our Own Oslo Okkar eigin Osl 2011 Reynir Lyngdal 23,89210. - YES Mamma Gogo Mamma Gg 2010 Fririk r Fririksson 23,363

Top 7 Icelandic Film Successes in the NordicsAdmission in the country of origin excluded


1. C YES Legends of Valhalla - Thor Hetjur Valhallar - r 2011 skar Jnasson 29,2062. - YES The Deep Djpi 2012 Baltasar Kormkur 11,2573. - YES The Good Heart The Good Heart 2009 Dagur Kri 7,7314. - YES Volcano Eldfjall 2011 Rnar Rnarsson 5,5685. - YES Blacks Game Svartur leik 2012 skar Thr Axelsson 8986. - YES Mamma Gogo Mamma Gg 2010 Fririk r Fririksson 8377. - YES Summerland Sumarlandi 2010 Grmur Hkonarson 792


Iceland and Icelandic Feature Films


Director Ragnar Bragasons comedy Mr. Bjarnfredarson (2009) was the most popular local film in 2009-2013 with almost 67,000 admissions followed by Oskar Thor Axelssons thriller Blacks game (2012). The latter also had an audience of a couple hundred in Danish cinemas.

Icelandic films stayed local as only eight films of all 66 films (12%) were screened in other Nordic countries by the end of the research period. The Icelandic success stories in the Nordics were childrens animation Legends of Valhalla Thor (2011), directed by skar Jnasson, and survival story The Deep (Djpi, 2012) directed by Baltasar Kormkur. Both attracted audience in and outside of Iceland. Jnassons animation more than doubled its audience in other Nordic countries.

In general, children and youth films had a good position in the Icelandic market. Four of ten top 10 local films were for a youth or even younger audience.

Despite the last years having been hard for Icelandic cinema, local films having only 3.6 percent of B.O. revenues in 2013 and even less in admissions, 2014 saw a significant rise of the local market share to 13.6 percent.7

01

7 The data does not include the admissions at the Icelands art-house cinema Bio Paradis, which has screened film productions since autumn 2010.



Top 10 Local Film Successes in Norway in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in Norway

1. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Espen Sandberg 888,363 & Joachim Rnning2. C - The Christmas of Solan & Ludvig Solan og Ludvig 2013 Rasmus A. Sivertsen 854,210 - Jul i Flklypa

3. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum 558,0204. C YES Journey to the Christmas Star Reisen til julestjernen 2012 Nils Gaup 462,6925. C - Twigson ties the Knot Knerten gifter seg 2010 Martin Lund 421,7986. C - Twigson Knerten 2009 sleik Engmark 375,5677. C - Magic Silver Julenatt i Blfjell 2009 Roar Uthaug 370,190 & Katarina Launing 8. C - Twigson in trouble Knerten i knipe 2011 Arild stin Ommundsen 320,0049. C - Magic Silver 2 Blfjell 2 - Jakten p det 2011 Arne Lindtner Nss 285,864 magiske horn (3D)

10. - YES King of Devils Island Kongen av Basty 2010 Marius Holst 282,071

Top 10 Norwegian Film Successes in the NordicsAdmission in the country of origin excluded


1. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum 266,1562. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Espen Sandberg 205,597 & Joachim Rnning

3. C YES Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins Hokus Pokus Albert berg 2013 Torill Kove 128,5964. C - The Christmas of Solan & Ludvig Solan og Ludvig - Jul i Flklypa 2013 Rasmus A. Sivertsen 63,3455. - YES Oslo, August 31st Oslo 31. august 2011 Joachim Trier 17,2076. - - A Somewhat Gentle Man En ganske snill mann 2010 Hans Petter Moland 14,9457. C YES Elias and The Treasure of the Sea Elias og jakten p havets gull 2010 Lise I. Osvoll 11,5368. - YES The Angel Engelen 2009 Margreth Olin 5,6619. - - Must have been Love En som deg 2013 Eirik Svensson 5,35310. - YES Happy, happy Sykt lykkelig 2010 Anne Sewitsky 3,908


Norway and Norwegian Feature Films


Norwegian cinemas ticket-sales have gone moderately downhill for the last years, but at the same time local films have attracted somewhat bigger audiences than before: in 2009 cinemas sold 12.7 million tickets. By 2013, total admissions had dropped down to 11.8 million and by 2014 to 11.3 million tickets. Local films in turn rose to nearly 2.7 million tickets in 2013, and the year after went even over that, which means a market share of 24.4 percent and the second best year for local film since 1975, Film & Kino reveals.

The main contributors to the record-high local film market shares are the children and family films. For example director Rasmus A. Sivertsens phenomenal success animation The Christmas of Solan & Ludvig rose to the second most successful local film, despite its late release in 2013.

The children and youth films also dominated the Top 10 local films. Only the Oscar-nominated blockbuster epic

Kon-tiki (2012), directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rnning, beat the Christmas tale with 888,000 sold tickets in Norway. Adventure film attracted also over 205,000-headed cinema audience in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

Wider Nordic audiences most enjoyed action thriller Headhunters (Hodejegerne, 2011), based on Jo Nesbs novel and directed by Morten Tyldum, and it leads the Norwegian films top 10 from 2009-2013 based on cinema admission in other Nordic countries. Most of the Norwegian film successes in the Nordic countries had a cinema release in Sweden and Denmark, and a few in Finland and Iceland.



Top 10 Local Film Successes in Sweden in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Admissions in Sweden

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev 1,217,6182. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Who Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson 1,031,003 Played with Fire3. - - The girl who kicked the Hornets nest Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson 773,9914. - YES House of Angels - Third Time Lucky nglagrd - tredje gngen gillt 2010 Colin Nutley 688,2725. - YES Easy Money Snabba cash 2010 Danil Espinosa 608,3716. C - Tosh in Greece Sune i Grekland - all inclusive 2012 Hannes Holm 588,2977. - - A Midsummer Nights Party Sommaren med Gran 2009 Staffan Lindberg 551,6018. - YES False Trail Jgarna 2 2011 Kjell Sundvall 537,5839. - YES Waltz for Monica Monica Z 2013 Per Fly 517,07710. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton - I nationens intresse 2012 Kathrine Windfeld 512,661 Interest of the Nation

Top 10 Swedish Film Successes in the NordicsAdmission in the country of origin excluded


1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev 1,630,1542. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Who Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson 1,383,311 Played with Fire3. - - The girl who kicked Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson 923,343 the Hornets nest4. C YES Pettson & Findus IV - Forget-Abilities Pettson & Findus 2009 Jrgen Lerdam & 159,962 - glmligheter Anders Srensen

5. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm 141,5496. - YES Nobels Last Will Nobels testamente 2012 Peter Flinth 121,2767. - YES The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Hundraringen som klevut 2013 Felix Herngren 105,442 Out the Window and Disappeared genom fnstret och frsvann

8. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton - I nationens intresse 2012 Kathrine Windfeld 86,662 Interest of the Nation

9. - YES Beyond Svinalngorna 2010 Pernilla August 83,56510. - YES Cornelis Cornelis 2010 Amir Chamdin 72,021


Sweden and Swedish Feature Films


The Millennium trilogy became a phenomenon in Sweden and other Nordic countries in the end of 2000s. Based on Swedish bestselling novels, the trilogy, gained a cinema audience of over 3 million in Sweden and 3.9 million in the other four Nordic countries.

The millennium effect faded a couple years later and made room for new Swedish comedies, biopics and childrens films, which soon started dominating the local market share. In 2013, cinema admissions for Swedish film hit the 4 million mark again, and the Swedish films market share rose from the previous year to 24.8 percent. Total cinema admissions on the other hand went down by 7.5 percent. In 2014 the change was smaller, but still negative. The total admissions were 16.3 million.

Biopic Waltz for Monica (2013) directed by Per Fly was the Swedish film with the highest box office figures in 2013. Oscar-

winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man (2012) and warm comedy The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013) boosted Swedish films international triumph.

Director Felix Herngrens The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared got 424,000 viewers in the first week after the premiere, and rose to become the sixth most successful Swedish film since 1963/1964.

After the international blockbuster successes, there are still some local hits that made it to the top 10, as comedies Tosh in Greece and A Midsummer Nights Party.


Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 25Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 24

Nordic Film Success

John M. Jacobsen: Outcasts in Their Neighbouring CountriesIt is an accepted truth that Nordic films dont travel across borders, even within Scandinavia. As the producer of the last Norwegian film to do big business in Sweden (Pathfinder, 1988, well over SEK 10 million theatrical gross), it is sad to register that it is now easier to get a decent release in Germany and France than to get your film shown in Sweden at all.

But is this a law of nature?There was a time when Swedish movies could draw an audience equal to popular Hollywood films in Norway. Then they sort of faded away and the Danes entered the scene led, in my opinion, by Per Holst and his band of young directors, later to be followed by Zentropa and Nimbus. Whats even more dramatic is the way Danish television drama started to mesmerize audiences all over Scandinavia and the world! What better proof that the audience is there.

The excitement surrounding a non-national Nordic production is, however, very difficult to get across to a cinema audience.

But is it impossible?Reading the statistics provided by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, there are a few interesting figures. We all know that the Millennium films did great. But how great? From 1.630.000 to 923.000 admissions each outside its home territory! Headhunters increased its take by almost 50% by adding the other Nordic territories and Susanne Biers In A Better World did the same with 227,065 admissions versus 443,542 in its home territory. The latter simply proves that success does not require authors like Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesb.

Im sure there will be more interesting figures as the statistics are updated. And let me just add: I am not naive. It is difficult, but I am convinced that there is a much bigger Nordic market if we make the right films for that market.

John M. JacobsenCEO, ProducerFilmkameratene

8 Some of the films might have been or still come to the cinemas in other Nordic countries, especially if the film was released in the country of origin in 2013. The report is mainly based on to data from years 2009-2013.

Nordic Film Success

NORDIC FILM SUCCESS02

Nordic countries released 847 local film productions during 2009-2013. By the end of the 2013, around 84 percent of the films were screened in cinemas in the country of origin and 15 percent in several Nordic countries8.

The Swedish Millennium film trilogy based on bestseller novels by Stieg Larsson reached the most Nordic residents and dominated charts. No other film or film series had such a breakthrough in each Nordic country as

the Millennium trilogy, but thats not to say there havent also been other film successes and differences between the Nordic countries in the film flavour.

In the following chapters the focus is on how Nordic films succeeded in the Nordic countries outside of the country of origin.

Nordic Films Crossing Borders

Theatrical Releases in Neighboring Countries In 2009-2013

Supported by NFTF: 106 films

Not supported by NFTF: 25 films

Total number of films released in at least 2 Nordic countries: 131 films

81%

19%

69 % of the films completed in Nordic countries were released only locally.

Nordic Films Distibution Support Report Page 27Nordic Film Crossing Borders Page 26

Nordic Top 10 in Finland

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions of origin in Finland

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 86,5152. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 77,124 Who Played with Fire

3. - - The Girl Who Kicked the Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 61,872 Hornets Nest

4. C YES Pettson & Findus IV Pettson & Findus 2009 Jrgen Lerdam & Sweden 60,084 - Forget-Abilities - glmligheter Anders Srensen

5. - YES Beyond Svinalngorna 2010 Pernilla August Sweden 51,9446. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm Sweden 23,5657. - YES Melancholia Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier Denmark 21,4798. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg Denmark 20,5849. C YES That Boy Emil Emil & Ida i Lnneberga 2013 Per hlin, Alicja Jaworsk Sweden 16,705 i Bjrk & Lasse Persson10. - YES In a Better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier Denmark 15,587

Nordic Films in Finland

The Swedish film productions dominated the Nordic top 10 in Finland in 2009-2013. The Millennium saga, holding the top positions, was followed by childrens animation film Pettson & Findus IV Forget-Abilities (2009), which defended its fourth place against a feature drama Beyond (Svinalngorna, 2010) directed by Pernilla August.

Altogether, Finnish cinemas screened 56 Nordic films of which 43 percent were Swedish, 20 percent Danish and 13 Norwegian.

Only two Icelandic films made to the Finnish cinemas in 2009-2013: Dagur Kris The Good Heart and Baltasar Kormkurs The Deep.

The most successful Danish film in Finland was Lars von Triers Melancholia (2011) and the second Thomas Vinterbergs The Hunt (2013) both award-winning dramas.

Nordic Film Success

Nordic Top 10 in Denmark

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions of origin in Denmark

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 959,3692. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Who Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 786,683 Played with Fire


4. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum Norway 212,5355. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Joachim Rnning & Norway 168,989 Espen Sandberg

6. - YES Nobels Last Will Nobels testamente 2012 Peter Flinth Sweden 112,8747. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm Sweden 91,9638. C - The Christmas of Solan & Ludvig Solan og Ludvig - Jul i Flklypa 2013 Rasmus A. Sivertsen Norway 63,3459. C YES Niko 2 - Little Brother, Niko 2 - lentjveljekset 2012 Kari Juusonen Finland 61,402 Big Trouble

10. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton - I nationens intresse 2012 Kathrine Windfeld Sweden 49,746 Interest of the Nation

Nordic Films in Denmark

The Swedish Millennium film trilogy dominated the Danish top Nordic films and was followed by two Norwegian blockbusters: crime film Headhunters (Hodejegerne, 2011) and Oscar-nominated expedition story Kon-tiki (2012).

Their admissions compared to the Millennium trilogy were, however, modest it had over 2 million cinema admissions in Denmark in 2009, which may have had some effect on Danish films domestic share that went down from the average share of 26 percent to 17 percent9.

The Danish film audience also favoured other thrillers and action films based on

highly acclaimed novels: Headhunters is based on Jo Nesbs book, Nobels Last Will (2012) on Liza Marklunds, The Hypnotist (2012) on Lars Keplers, and Agent Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation (2012) on Jan Guillous novel.

Danish cinemas screened 47 Nordic films that were not Danish. A bit over half of the films were Swedish and a fourth Norwegian. Only a few Finnish and Icelandic productions made it to the Danish cinemas in 2009-2013.


9 Facts & Figures, Danish Film Institute.

Nordic Film Success


Nordic Top 10 in Norway

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions of origin in Norway

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 532,4082. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 487,709 Who Played with Fire


4. - YES Cornelis Cornelis 2010 Amir Chamdin Sweden 72,0215. C YES Pettson & Findus IV Pettson & Findus - glmligheter 2009 Jrgen Lerdam Sweden 63,542 - Forget-Abilities & Anders Srensen6. - YES The 100-Year-Old Man Hundraringen som klev ut 2013 Felix Herngren Sweden 44,906 Who Climbed Out the genom fnstret och frsvann

Window and Disappeared

7. - YES Clown Klovn - the Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard Denmark 41,3918. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel Denmark 37,7199. C YES Armadillo Armadillo 2010 Janus Metz Pedersen Denmark 35,99110. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton - I nationens intresse 2012 Kathrine Windfeld Sweden 30,018 Interest of the Nation

Nordic Films in Norway

Norway was the only Nordic country where a documentary film made it to the Nordic Top 10. Danish documentary success Armadillo (2010) directed by Janus Metz Pedersen attracted almost 36,000 peoples audience to the cinemas. Otherwise, the Swedish films dominated the Nordic top 10 in Norway.

At the fourth place after the Millennium trilogy is director Amir Chamdins biographic film Cornelis, about troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk, with around 72,000 admissions.

During 2009-2013, Norway screened 67 Nordic films in the cinemas that were non-Norwegian productions. A bit over one half of the Nordic films were Swedish and almost one third Danish. The most successful Danish film in Norway was Mikkel Nrgaards comedy, Clown.

Nordic Film Success

Nordic Top 10 in Iceland

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions of origin in Iceland

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 51,8622. - YES Clown Klovn - the Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard Denmark 42,2173. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 31,795 Who Played with Fire4. - - The Girl Who Kicked the Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 26,192 Hornets Nest

5. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum Norway 6,7386. - YES Easy Money Snabba cash 2010 Danil Espinosa Sweden 6,4447. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier Denmark 5,9638. - YES The Keeper of Lost Causes Kvinden i buret 2013 Mikkel Nrgaard Denmark 4,2679. - YES In a Better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier Denmark 2,86810. - YES Antichrist Antichrist 2009 Lars von Trier Denmark 2,328

Nordic Films in Iceland

In Iceland, the Swedish domination was challenged by the Danish hit comedy Clown (2010), based on a famous TV series carrying the same title. The runner-up rose to the second place with 42,200 admissions, and its TV-rights were sold to entire Nordic Region10. Both, the film and TV series were directed by Mikkel Nrgaard.

Also two Danish dramas directed by Susanne Bier made it to the Top 10: Love Is All You Need (2012) and In a Better World (2010). In all, the Danish film productions

hold a half of the spots in the Nordic top 10. The 10th place went to director Lars von Triers symbolic Antichrist, a film about womans nature and natures cruelty.

Icelandic cinemas screened 18 films from the other Nordic countries in 2009-2013. A half of those were from Denmark and one third from Sweden.


10 Danish Sitcom CLOWN sold out in all 5 Nordic Countries -update, News, Zentropa. www.zentropa.dk/news_eng/?newsid=17

Nordic Film Success


Girl with a Dragon Tattoo Knut Koivisto

The first film of the Swedish Millennium trilogy, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, gained a cinema audience of almost 3 million in the Nordic region.

Nordic Film Success

Nordic Top 10 in Sweden

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions of origin in Sweden

1. - YES In a Better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier Denmark 194,0372. C YES Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins Hokus Pokus Albert berg 2013 Torill Kove Norway 114,2293. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg Denmark 82,5524. - YES Marie Kryer Marie Kryer 2012 Bille August Denmark 62,5415. - YES Melancholia Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier Denmark 46,1066. - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki Finland 45,8937. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel Denmark 45,6348. - YES Iron Sky Iron Sky 2012 Timo Vuorensola Finland 44,8979. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier Denmark 37,65810. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum Norway 37,029

Nordic Films in Sweden

The Nordic top 10 in Sweden is a mix of crime, romance, and drama, without forgetting a film for younger audiences. The list is dominated by widely acclaimed Danish films, but also two Norwegian and two Finnish films made it to the top. The Norwegian childrens animation Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins directed by Torill Kove attracted larger audience in Sweden than in Norway, where it reached 74,000 admissions by the end of 2013. Alfie Atkins is a popular childrens fiction character from Sweden, which might explain the success.

Swedes also favoured Finnish films in a way that no other Nordic country did: a cult-director Aki Kaurismkis Le Havre (2011)

rose to the sixth place and science fiction surprise Iron Sky (2012) took eight place in the Nordic Top 10. Both attracted around 45,000 people to the cinemas.

Swedish cinemas screened 47 Nordic films from another Nordic country. 43 percent of those films were Norwegian, 36 percent Danish, and 17 percent Finnish. Only two of the films, 4 percent, were Icelandic.

NORDIC FILM SUCCESS02Nordic Film Success


Most Popular Feature Films in the Nordic Countries The most popular film in the Nordic countries in 2009-2013 was internationally acclaimed Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), which was distributed to all Nordic countries and attracted record-high audience over 2.8 million people to the cinemas. It was followed by the rest of the Millennium Trilogy: The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. In all, the film trilogy was an audience magnet and drew 6.96 million people to the cinemas in the Nordic region.

Only one more film went over the one million admissions limit in 2009-2013 a Norwegian historical drama and expedition story, Kon-tiki, directed by Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg.

Director Felix Herngrens The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared an adaptation of success novel made by author Jonas Jonasson would have broken the same record, if the admissions from the year 2014 were counted in11.

No documentary films had high enough admissions to make it to the Nordic Tops.Three children and youth films on the other hand did break through. Two of the films were Norwegian and one Swedish production.

11 According to SFI, film was the biggest selling title of 2014 with over 1.1 million local admissions (total 1,585,042 admissions in 2013-2014).

Nordic Film Success


Top 10 Film Successes in the NordicsBased on the total admissions

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions Admissions Admissions Admissions Admissions Nordic Total of Origin in Denmark in Finland in Iceland in Norway in Sweden

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 959,369 86,515 51,862 532,408 1,217,618 2,847,7722. - - Millennium 2 Flickan som lekte med elden 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 786,683 77,124 31,795 487,709 1,031,003 2,414,314 - The Girl Who Played with Fire

3. - - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 501,834 61,872 26,192 333,445 773,991 1,697,3344. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Joachim Rnning Norway 168,989 11,089 - 888,363 25,519 1,093,960 and Espen Sandberg

5. - YES Clown Klovn - the Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard Denmark 838,881 11,178 42,217 41,391 - 933,6676. C - The Christmas of Solan & Ludvig Solan og Ludvig - Jul i Flklypa 2013 Rasmus A. Sivertsen Norway 63,345 - - 854,210 - 917,5557. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum Norway 212,535 9,854 6,738 558,020 37,029 824,1768. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg Denmark 651,818 20,584 - 23,370 82,552 778,3249. - - This Life Hvidsten Gruppen - Nogle m d 2012 Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis Denmark 754,824 - - - - 754,824 for at andre kan leve

10. - YES House of Angels - Third Time Lucky nglagrd - tredje gngen gillt 2010 Colin Nutley Sweden - - - 28,600 688,272 716,872


Kon-tiki Nordisk Film A/S

Norwegian cinema success Kon-Tiki, filmed in two languages, received an audience of almost 1.1 million in the Nordic region.

In a Better World Nordisk Film A/S

Director Susanne Biers In a Better World was the most popular Danish film in the Nordic countries with over 220,000 admissions.

Nordic Film Success


Top 20 Border-Crossing Nordic Films

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Admissions Admissions Admissions Admissions Admissions Admissions except in of Origin in Denmark in Finland in Iceland in Norway in Sweden the country of origin

1. - YES Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Mn som hatar kvinnor 2009 Niels Arden Oplev Sweden 959,369 86,515 51,862 532,408 1,217,618 1,630,154

2. - - Millennium 2 - The Girl Flickan som lekte 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 786,683 77,124 31,795 487,709 1,031,003 1,383,311 Who Played with Fire med elden

3. - - The Girl Who Kicked Luftslottet som sprngdes 2009 Daniel Alfredsson Sweden 501,834 61,872 26,192 333,445 773,991 923,343 the Hornets Nest

4. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum Norway 212,535 9,854 6,738 558,020 37,029 266,1565. - YES In a better World Hvnen 2010 Susanne Bier Denmark 443,542 15,587 2,868 14,573 194,037 227,0656. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Joachim Rnning Norway 168,989 11,089 - 888,363 25,519 205,597 and Espen Sandberg

7. C YES Pettson & Findus IV Pettson & Findus 2009 Jrgen Lerdam Sweden 36,336 60,084 - 63,542 164,944 159,962 - Forget-Abilities - glmligheter and Anders Srensen

8. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm Sweden 91,963 23,565 - 26,021 267,108 141,5499. C YES Hocus Pocus, Alfie Atkins Hokus Pokus Albert berg 2013 Torill Kove Norway 14,367 - - 74,468 114,229 128,59610. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg Denmark 651,818 20,584 - 23,370 82,552 126,50611. - YES Nobels Last Will Nobels testamente 2012 Peter Flinth Sweden 112,874 3,329 - 5,073 43,763 121,27612. - YES The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Hundraringen som klev ut 2013 Felix Herngren Sweden 46,904 13,632 - 44,906 423,875 105,442 Out the Window and Disappeared genom fnstret och frsvann

13. - YES Clown Klovn - the Movie 2010 Mikkel Nrgaard Denmark 838,881 11,178 42,217 41,391 94,78614. - YES Melancholia Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier Denmark 57,421 21,479 935 23,482 46,106 92,00215. - YES Agent Hamilton: Hamilton 2012 Kathrine Windfeld Sweden 49,746 6,898 - 30,018 512,661 86,662 In the Interest of the Nation - I nationens intresse

16. - YES Beyond Svinalngorna 2010 Pernilla August Sweden 14,840 51,944 1,702 15,079 381,209 83,56517. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel Denmark 515,921 - - 37,719 45,634 83,35318. - YES Cornelis Cornelis 2010 Amir Chamdin Sweden - - - 72,021 203,067 72,02119. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier Denmark 631,937 13,124 5,963 13,013 37,658 69,75820. - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki Finland 7,066 129,142 - 13,620 45,893 66,579


International Success of Nordic Film

Ib Bondebjerg: The Nordic Film and Television Wave

It is a lot more fun these days to attend international conferences or film and TV festivals and events than it used to be. Before, only people with a certain knowledge of cinema were able to point to auteurs like Carl Th. Dreyer, Ingmar Bergman, Aki Kaurismki or Lars von Trier even if they probably had not seen very many of their films. Now, numerous books, articles and conferences are dedicated to such things as Nordic noir and the Scandinavian wave, which has also created a broader and more popular interest in Nordic culture and society.

Nordic film and TV drama are not producing blockbuster mainstream products that match US-UK products at the box office. Nordic film and TV suffer from the same problems that haunt European film and television. The fragmentation of the European market makes it difficult for film and TV to reach a broad European audience. This is the case even within the Nordic countries. But Nordic film and TV has put its cultural and artistic mark on the European culture.

What almost never happened before has now become the norm: Nordic film and TV circulate widely in the international festival system and they also take home

important prizes. Several Oscars and many more nominations, Golden Globe winners, many Emmy prizes to Nordic TV, European Film Awards, a strong presence in Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Sundance.

The intense and fruitful collaboration between the Nordic countries has certainly produced a model for the rest of Europe. Creative co-production and a strong system of funding across borders is the way forward if we want to overcome the fragmentation of European film and TV. The weakness both in the Nordic region and in the rest of Europe is still distribution. The general audience is not always getting the chance to see what the festival elites do. The system behind European cinemas is great, but stronger efforts are needed.

Ib BondebjergProfessorFilm and Media Studies, University of Copenhagen

12 E.g. sales data of Searching for Sugar Man (2012) not included.


03 INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF NORDIC FILM

World-wide Success of Nordic FilmsNordic films featured at festivals in 95 dif ferent countries between the years 2009-20 13. When it comes to film sales, some numbers were even more impressive.

This part of the study is based on festival visits and film sales to different countries and territories. The festival data was received from the Nordic Film Institutes and Foundations or collected from their websites databases. The information was crosschecked and evaluated many times during the process.

The festival data was combined with the sales data received from various sources from producers to worldwide sales companies. Sales data includes data regarding 312 titles. 36% (112) of the answers were regarding Danish, 14% (43) Finnish, 3% (10) Icelandic, 19% (58) Norwegian, and 29% (89) Swedish films. The sales data lacks information of some Nordic films that are known to have international releases and likely impressive distribution during the research period12.

The data does not specify if a film was sold to theatrical, DVD or TV release. It should be also remembered that even though the films rights were sold to a territory, it does not mean that the right was used and the film was released or broadcast.

In the following chapters, the focus is on Nordic films international success first from a country perspective and later Nordic perspective.

Films at Festivals In 2009-2013

Films that visited at least one festival outside of the country of production: 566

Films that did not go to festivals outside of the country of production: 281

Total number of films: 847

33% 81%

67%

19%


Top 10 Danish Film Festival Successes

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Nordic Total Amount of Admissions Festival Countries

1. D YES Armadillo Armadillo 2010 Janus Metz Pedersen 165,841 372. D YES Burma VJ: Reporting Burma VJ - Reporter 2009 Anders stergaard 2,103 35 from a Closed Country i et lukket land

3. D YES The Act of Killing The Act of Killing 2012 Joshua Oppenheimer 10,847 334. - YES A Hijacking Kapringen 2012 Tobias Lindholm 140,074 30 C YES The Great Bear Den kmpestore bjrn 2011 Esben Toft Jacobsen 60,466 30 YES Submarino Submarino 2010 Thomas Vinterberg 55,909 30 D YES Into Eternity Into Eternity 2010 Michael Madsen 1,452 308. - - R R 2010 Tobias Lindholm 34,206 29 & Michael Noer 9. D YES The Ambassador Ambassadren 2011 Mads Brgger 19,996 2810. D - Teddy Bear 10 Timer til paradis 2012 Mads Matthiesen 26,815 27

Danish Film Sales 2009-2013The number of countries that the films were sold to

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Amount of Countries

1. - YES Melancholia Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier 932. - YES Love is All You Need Den skaldede frisr 2012 Susanne Bier 89 YES A Hijacking Kapringen 2012 Tobias Lindholm 894. - YES A Royal Affair En kongelig affre 2012 Nikolaj Arcel 815. - YES The Hunt Jagten 2013 Thomas Vinterberg 786. - YES Antichrist Antichrist 2009 Lars von Trier 737. C - Otto is a Rhino Otto er et nsehorn 2013 Kenneth Kainz 718. C YES Freddy Frogface Orla Frsnapper 2011 Peter Dodd 669. - YES Nymphomaniac Nymphomaniac 2013 Lars von Trier 64 C - Antboy Antboy 2013 Ask Hasselbalch 64



Danish Films International Success

Danish films had the widest circulation when it comes to different festival countries. The first place goes to hit documentary Armadillo, which visited festivals in 37 different countries. Documentary films also hold the second and third places: Anders stergaards Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country had screenings in 35 festival countries and Joshua Oppenheimers The Act of Killing in 33 countries.

Altogether, 75 percent of the Danish films had a festival screening outside of Denmark. The films were screened at festivals and events in 70 countries, mainly in Germany, Sweden and Canada.

Documentary films were strongly represented at the festivals, but when it comes to film sales, award-winning dramas and children and youth films were dominating. Top 3 films Melancholia, Love is All You Need and A Hijacking were sold to around 90 countries. Director Tobias Lindholms A Hijacking (2012) holds also a shared fourth place at Top 10 Danish festival successes and had around 140,000 admissions in the Nordics by the end on 2013.

Top Countries to Screen Danish Films at Festivals

Festival country Amount of films1. Germany 962. Sweden 913. Canada 694. Norway 695. USA 686. Poland 617. Czech Republic 558. Finland 529. the Netherlands 4910. Estonia 45 India 45



Top 10 Finnish Film Festival Successes


1. - YES Letters to Father Jacob Postia pappi Jaakobille 2009 Klaus Hr 99,481 352. D YES Steam of Life Miesten vuoro 2010 Joonas Berghll 62,902 31 & Mika Hotakainen3. D YES The Punk Syndrome Kovasikajuttu 2012 Jukka Krkkinen 19,875 29 & JP Passi4. - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki 195,721 285. - YES Forbidden Fruit Kielletty hedelm 2009 Dome Karukoski 115,904 266. - YES Bad Family Paha perhe 2010 Aleksi Salmenper 15,837 227. - - The Good Son Hyv poika 2011 Zaida Bergroth 10,159 228. D - The Living Room Kansakunnan olohuone 2009 Jukka Krkkinen 368 22 of the Nation

9. - YES Lapland Odyssey Napapiirin sankarit 2010 Dome Karukoski 384,893 2110. - - Princess Prinsessa 2010 Arto Halonen 296,939 21

Finnish Film Sales 2009-2013The number of countries that the films were sold to

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Amount of Countries1. - YES Iron Sky Iron Sky 2012 Timo Vuorensola 772. C YES Niko 2 - Little Brother, Niko 2 - lentjveljekset 2012 Kari Juusonen 76 Big Trouble

3. - YES Rare Exports Rare Exports 2010 Jalmari Helander 534. - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki 435. - YES Priest of Evil Harjunp ja pahan pappi 2010 Olli Saarela 376. - YES Purge Puhdistus 2012 Antti Jokinen 367. - - Road North Tie Pohjoiseen 2012 Mika Kaurismki 288. - YES Lapland Odyssey Napapiirin sankarit 2010 Dome Karukoski 269. - - 21 Ways to Ruin 21 tapaa pilata avioliitto 2013 Johanna Vuoksenmaa 23 a Marriage

10. - YES Heart of a Lion Leijonasydn 2013 Dome Karukoski 21

13 Based on admissions in European Cinemas member countries in 2008-2013. Published in EAOs Focus 2014 World Film Market Trends.14 Iron Skys sales data was received in late February 2015 and therefore it is counted in only when it comes to the Finnish Film Sales chart.



Finnish Films International Success

69 percent of Finnish films had at least one festival screening outside of Finland. The film with highest amount of festival countries was Klaus Hrs Letters to Father Jacob, a drama set in the 1970s. It had festival screening in 35 countries, and it was also a local cinema hit, but it did not make it to the Top film sales. Top film sales were led by Timo Vuorensolas sci-fi film Iron Sky and Kari Juusonens children animation success Niko 2 Little Brother, Big Trouble.

Two Finnish films were present in both Top 10s. With the highest sales number is director Aki Kaurismkis Le Havre (2011) followed by Dome Karukoskis drama

Lapland Odyssey. Kaurismkis Le Havre also gathered 920,000 admissions in Europe, which raises it to the top 20 European films 2008-201313.

Altogether, the Finnish film productions visited 76 different countries mostly Russia, the USA, and Germany.14

Top Countries to Screen Finnish Films at Festivals

Festival country Amount of films1. Russia 582. USA 553. Germany 534. Sweden 465. Poland 366. Czech Republic 327. Italy 318. Canada 29 Norway 2910. Turkey 27



Top 10 Icelandic Film Festival Successes Films visiting the most countries 2009-2013


1. - YES Volcano Eldfjall 2011 Rnar Rnarsson 14,608 322. - YES Mamma Gogo Mamma Gg 2010 Fririk r Fririksson 24,200 25 D - Dreamland Draumalandi 2009 orfinnur Gunason & 16,213 25 Andri Snr Magnason - - Either Way annan veg 2011 Hafsteinn Gunnar 1,282 25 - Sigurdsson5. - YES The Deep Djpi 2012 Baltasar Kormkur 61,537 226. C - Jitters ri 2010 Baldvin Zophonasson 12,764 177. - YES Undercurrent Brim 2010 rni lafur sgeirsson 10,853 14 D - Gnarr Gnarr 2010 Gaukur lfarsson 3,961 14 D - Grandma Lo-fi Amma Lo-Fi 2011 Orri Jnsson, Kristn Bjrk - 14 Kristjnsdttir & Ingibjrg Birgisdttir10. D - Future of Hope Future of Hope 2010 Henry Bateman 956 13

Icelandic Film Sales 2009-2013The number of countries that the films were sold to


1. C YES Legends of Valhalla Hetjur Valhallar - r 2011 skar Jnasson 90 - Thor

2. - YES The Deep Djpi 2012 Baltasar Kormkur 733. - YES The Good Heart The Good Heart 2009 Dagur Kri 714. - YES Blacks Game Svartur leik 2012 skar Thr Axelsson 595. - - The Frost 2012 Reynir Lyngdal 486. - YES Mamma Gogo Mamma Gg 2010 Fririk r Fririksson 407. - YES Volcano Eldfjall 2011 Rnar Rnarsson 198. C - Jitters ri 2010 Baldvin Zophonasson 169. D - Future of Hope Future of Hope 2010 Henry Bateman 12



Icelandic Films International Success

75 percent of Icelandic films were screened at festivals and events abroad in 2009-2013. Four of the films visited 25 or more countries, and most of the Icelandic productions travelled to festivals in Germany, USA and Sweden.

The first place went to Rnar Rnarssons international success film Volcano, which had festival screenings in 32 countries. It was also sold to 19 different countries. Director skar Jnassons children and youth film Legends of Valhalla - Thor holds the first place at the Icelandic Top film sales with 90 countries followed by director Baltasar Kormkurs The Deep with 73 countries. The latter had also festival screenings in 22 countries.

The Icelandic top 10 film festival successes also included one film that did not have any cinema screening at the local cinemas. That was Grandma Lo-fi, a documentary of an Icelandic lady, who started recording and releasing music for the first time in her life at the age of 70. The film was also sold to two countries.

None of the other top 10 film festival successes included a film without a local cinema screening.

Top 10 Countries to Screen Icelandic Films at Festivals

Festival country Amount of films1. Germany 272. USA 193. Sweden 184. Canada 175. Denmark 146. France 13 Poland 138. Lithuania 11 Norway 11 UK 11



Top 10 Norwegian Film Festival Successes Films visiting the most countries 2009-2013


1. - YES Oslo, August 31st Oslo 31. august 2011 Joachim Trier 83,132 30 - YES North Nord 2009 Rune Denstad Langlo 36,629 303. - - A Somewhat En ganske snill mann 2010 Hans Petter Moland 111,086 29 Gentle Man

4. - YES Happy, happy Sykt lykkelig 2010 Anne Sewitsky 32,193 265. - - Before Snowfall Fr snen faller 2013 Hisham Zaman 16,178 246. D - Yodok Stories Yodok 2009 Andrzej Fidyk 18,773 237. - - Trollhunter Trolljegeren 2010 Andr vredal 279,063 22 C - The Liverpool Goalie Keepern til Liverpool 2010 Arild Andresen 106,510 229. - - 90 Minutes 90 minutter 2012 Eva Srhaug 45,939 2110. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Joachim Rnning 1,093,960 20 & Espen Sandberg - YES Sons of Norway Snner av Norge 2011 Jens Lien 88,550 20 - - The Mountain Fjellet 2011 Ole Giver 4,262 20

Norwegian Film Sales 2009-2013The number of countries that the films were sold to


1. C - Totally True Love Jrgen + Anne = sant 2011 Anne Sewitsky 1502. - - Victoria Victoria 2013 Torun Lian 1483. - YES Kon-Tiki Kon-Tiki 2012 Joachim Rnning 86 & Espen Sandberg4. - YES Headhunters Hodejegerne 2011 Morten Tyldum 845. C - Rafiki Bestevenner 2009 Christian Lo 70 - YES A Thousand Times Tusen ganger god natt 2013 Erik Poppe 70 Good Night

7. C - Ploddy the Police Car Pelle Politibil 2010 Rasmus A. Sivertsen 68 Makes a Splas gr i vannet & Rune Spaans8. C YES Journey to the Reisen til julestjernen 2012 Nils Gaup 64 Christmas Star

9. - - Escape Flukt 2012 Roar Uthaug 6210. D YES A Love Story: Liv & Ingmar 2012 Dheeraj Akolkar 58 Liv & Ingmar



Norwegian Films International Success

Norwegian films travelled to 70 different countries in 2009-2013. The most active countries to screen Norwegian films at events and festivals were Germany, Sweden and Canada. Six different countries screened over 40 Norwegian films during the period.Director Joachim Triers highly acclaimed drama, Oslo, August 31st, and Rune Denstad Langlos road movie, North, shared the first place of the top 10 Norwegian film festival successes - both films visited festivals and events in 30 different countries.

The majority of the top 10 film festival successes were dramas as only one was a documentary Yodok Stories and one

children and youth film The Liverpool Goalie. Norwegian children and youth films were, on the other hand, well-represented among the most sold Norwegian films as four of ten films were for young audience.

In all, 68 percent of the films were screened at festivals and events outside of Norway, but only one film made it to both Top lists: Nordic cinema success Kon-Tiki directed by Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg.

Top 10 Countries to Screen Norwegian Films at Festivals

Festival country Amount of films1. Germany 712. USA 703. Sweden 554. Canada 475. Poland 446. Finland 427. UK 398. Italy 389. the Netherlands 3410. Denmark 33 Russia 33



Top 10 Swedish Film Festival Successes Films visiting the most countries 2009-2013


1. - YES Metropia Metropia 2009 Tarik Saleh 10,184 372. - - She Monkeys Apflickorna 2011 Lisa Aschan 39,477 343. - YES Mammoth Mammut 2009 Lukas Moodysson 177,145 26 - - Eat Sleep Die ta sova d 2012 Gabriela Pichler 106,974 26 - - The Girl Flickan 2009 Fredrik Edfeldt 30,959 266. - - Pure Till det som r vackert 2010 Lisa Langseth 18,648 24 - The Ape Apan 2009 Jesper Ganslandt 11,484 248. D YES Videocracy Videocracy 2009 Erik Gandini 19,640 21 - YES Burrowing Man tnker sitt 2009 Henrik Hellstrm 13,043 21 & Fredrik Wenzel - YES Sebbe Sebbe 2010 Babak Najafi 12,016 21

Swedish Film Sales 2009-2013The number of countries that the films were sold to


1. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton 2012 Kathrine Windfeld 152 Interest of the Nation - I nationens intresse

2. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm 151 - - The Importance of Hur mnga lingon 2011 Lena Koppel 151 Tying Your Own Shoes finns det i vrlden

4. - YES False Trail Jgarna 2 2011 Kjell Sundvall 150 C - Eskil and Trinidad Eskil och Trinidad 2013 Stephan Apelgren 150 D - ... but Film Is ... men filmen r 2010 Stig Bjrkman 150 My Mistress min lskarinna

- - Simple Simon I rymden finns 2010 Andreas hman 150 inga knslor8. - YES Waltz for Monica Monica Z 2013 Per Fly 1489. C - A Thousand Tusen gnger starkare 2010 Peter Schildt 146 Times Stronger

10. - YES Easy Money Snabba cash 2010 Danil Espinosa 92



Swedish Films International Success

Around 58 percent of Swedish films had a festival screening abroad, mostly in Germany, USA and Canada followed by Nordic countries. Director Tarik Salehs film Metropia and Lisa Aschans She Monkeys lead the chart with festival screenings in over 30 countries.

The rest of the Top 10 Festival Successes also had screenings in over 20 different countries around the world. Only one of the films was a documentary and the rest were feature dramas.

Surprisingly, none of the festival successes made it to the top 10 in film sales, which was led by Kathrine Windfelds Agent Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation. The tight top 10 Swedish sales included films from local successes to sequels and documentary films.

Two childrens and youth films made it to the top sales: Stephen Apelgrens Eskil and Trinidad (2013), and Peter Schildts A Thousand Times Stronger (2010).

Top 10 Countries to Screen Swedish Films at Festivals

Festival country Amount of films1. Germany 822. USA 743. Canada 544. Denmark 525. Norway 506. Finland 497. the UK 458. the Netherlands 42 Poland 4210. Czech Republic 39



Nordic Films International Sales and Festival SuccessAt least eleven Nordic films were sold to more than 100 countries. Nine of the films were Swedish, two Norwegian.

One of the most successful Nordic film productions of the period, internationally, was director Janus Metz Pedersens award-winning Armadillo (2010) with over 165,000 admissions, festival screenings in 37 different countries and sales to 16 countries. Metz Pedersens documentary film focuses on Danish soldiers in the frontlines of Afghanistan and blurs the line between documentary and fiction. With the same amount of festival countries, is Swedish film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh.

Germany, the US and Canada were the most active countries to screen Nordic films at festivals and events, but when it comes to the sales, the leading countries are the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium.None of the top sold films made it among the Nordic festival successes.

Only two children and youth films made it to the Nordic top festival successes and film sales. One is an animation from Denmark and one from Sweden.


03 INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF NORDIC FILMInternational Success of Nordic Film

Nordic Film Sales Top 10The number of countries that the films were sold to in 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Amount of countries sold to

1. - YES Agent Hamilton: In the Hamilton 2012 Kathrine Windfeld Sweden 152 Interest of the Nation - I nationens intresse

2. - YES The Hypnotist Hypnotisren 2012 Lasse Hallstrm Sweden 151 - - The Importance of Hur mnga lingon 2011 Lena Koppel Sweden 151 Tying Your Own Shoes finns det i vrlden

4. - YES False Trail Jgarna 2 2011 Kjell Sundvall Sweden 150 C - Eskil and Trinidad Eskil och Trinidad 2013 Stephan Apelgren Sweden 150 D - ... but Film Is ... men filmen r 2010 Stig Bjrkman Sweden 150 My Mistress min lskarinna

- - Simple Simon I rymden finns 2010 Andreas hman Sweden 150 inga knslor

C - Totally True Love Jrgen + Anne = sant 2011 Anne Sewitsky Norway 1509. - YES Waltz for Monica Monica Z 2013 Per Fly Sweden 148 - - Victoria Victoria 2013 Torun Lian Norway 148

Top 10 Festival Countries for Nordic Film

Festival country Amount of films1. Germany 3292. USA 2863. Canada 2164. Sweden 2105. Poland 1956. Czech Republic 1617. Norway 1598. Netherlands 1589. UK 15510. Finland 151

* The max. amount of films 568.

Top 10 Countries to Buy Nordic Films

Festival country Amount of films1. the Netherlands 1612. Poland 1603. Belgium 1504. Germany 1465. Croatia 1456. Slovenia 1427. Macedonia 1358. Bosnia and Herzegovina 134 USA 13410. Montenegro 133

* The max. amount of films 312.


Le Havre Arthaus Sputnik Oy

Director Aki Kaurismkis Le Havre succeeded internationally both in cinemas and film festivals. It is also one of the most sold Finnish films.


03 INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF NORDIC FILMInternational Success of Nordic Film

Nordic Festival Successes Films visiting the most countries 2009-2013

Category Support English title Original title Release year Directors Country Nordic Total Amount of of origin admissions Festival Countries

1. D YES Armadillo Armadillo 2010 Janus Metz Pedersen Denmark 165,841 37 - YES Metropia Metropia 2009 Tarik Saleh Sweden 10,184 373. D YES Burma VJ: Reporting Burma VJ - Reporter i 2009 Anders stergaard Denmark 2,103 35 from a Closed Country et lukket land

- YES Letters to Father Jacob Postia pappi Jaakobille 2009 Klaus Hr Finland 99,481 355. - - She Monkeys Apflickorna 2011 Lisa Aschan Sweden 39,477 346. D YES The Act of Killing The Act of Killing 2012 Joshua Oppenheimer Denmark 10,847 337. - YES Volcano Eldfjall 2011 Rnar Rnarsson Iceland 14,608 328. D YES Steam of Life Miesten vuoro 2010 Joonas Berghll & Finland 62,902 31 Mika Hotakainen

9. - YES A Hijacking Kapringen 2012 Tobias Lindholm Denmark 140,074 30 C YES The Great Bear Den kmpestore bjrn 2011 Esben Toft Jacobsen Denmark 60,466 30 - YES Submarino Submarino 2010 Thomas Vinterberg Denmark 55,909 30 D YES Into Eternity Into Eternity 2010 Michael Madsen Denmark 1,452 30 - YES Oslo, August 31st Oslo 31. august 2011 Joachim Trier Norway 83,132 30 - YES North Nord 2009 Rune Denstad Langlo Norway 36,629 3015. - - R R 2010 Tobias Lindholm & Denmark 34,206 29 Michael Noer

D YES The Punk Syndrome Kovasikajuttu 2012 Jukka Krkkinen & JP Passi Finland 19,875 29 - - A Somewhat Gentle Man En ganske snill mann 2010 Hans Petter Moland Norway 111,086 2918. D YES The Ambassador Ambassadren 2011 Mads Brgger Denmark 19,996 28 - YES Le Havre Le Havre 2011 Aki Kaurismki Finland 195,721 2820. - - Teddy Bear 10 Timer til paradis 2012 Mads Matthiesen Denmark 26,815 27


Agent Hamilton: In the Interst of the Nation The Walt Disney Company Nordic

Swedish Agent Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation had over half a million local admissions and it was sold to around 150 countries.



Nordic Films at Nordic FestivalsSweden was the most active Nordic country to screen film productions from the neighbouring countries at festivals and events. During 2009-2013 Sweden screened 210 films from another Nordic country, where Finland and Norway screened around 150 films.

The Nordic films festival success was a bit milder in Denmark, which screened a

bit over one hundred films. In Iceland the number of non-local Nordic films was 70.

Denmark and Finland screened mostly Swedish films. Iceland, Norway and Sweden on the other hand showed Danish productions.

Nordic Films at Nordic Festivals and EventsAmount of films screened in 2009-2013 Denmark Finland Iceland Norway SwedenDanish films - 52 27 69 91Finnish films 16 - 12 29 46Icelandic films 14 8 - 11 18Norwegian films 33 42 15 - 55Swedish films 52 49 17 50 -Total 115 152 71 159 210



Focus on Children and Youth Film

Silje Hopland Eik: Making Nordic Children and Youth Films Succeed Across Borders

The year 2014 was a good one for Norwegian Childrens Films. Great blockbusters like Captain Sabertooth and Doctor Proctor, as well as our own premiers of Casper and Emma (Karsten og Petra) and Kick it (Kule Kidz grater ikke) drew many families to the cinema. Sales from childrens films are the main reason Norwegian films achieved a market share of 24.4%, the next best since 1975. With these results we can be proud of having reached important political goals, as well as international recognition of Norwegian childrens culture.

Success with a childrens or family film outside Norways borders is more complicated. Generally it is very difficult to achieve a theatrical release in Denmark or Sweden despite success here at home. The reason is often because the distributor does not believe the film will be successful in those countries and will therefore not invest the time and money to make it happen.

There are, however two films which have sold extremely well abroad, Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama and Doctor Proctors Fart Powder.Imaginative universes in the fantasy/adventure genre, extensive CGI, big budgets as well as an established brand can be the reason that Captain Sabertooth sold to over 70 countries even before its Norwegian premier.

Producing Norwegian language films has its limitations, but also some advantages. Childrens films can easily be dubbed into

other languages as child audiences have perhaps a higher threshold for accepting bad lip sync than adults.

An unexplored area of opportunity is producing a film in several languages at once, to increase the prospects of distribution outside of Norway. This is however a costly endeavour. When the producers of Kon-Tiki did this a few years ago, their production budget increased 30%.

Productions lighter on CGI would, however, be relatively less costly. An English language version would make it possible to reach several more territories; one just has to accept being in competition with all other English language produced material.

With good political incentives, children and family films can continue to flourish, and if we manage to establish good cinema habits among children we will eventually have a strong group of adult consumers of Norwegian film culture.

Silje Hopland EikProducerCinenord

Focus on Children and Youth Film

04 FOCUS ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH FILM

Nordic Characteristics of Children and Youth FilmLocal children and youth franchise films have a strong position in the Nordic countries. The most successful local children and youth films were franchise films without an exception.

Children and youth films also stayed mostly local only 17 percent were released in cinemas also in another Nordic country. Despite that, some children and youth films attracted audience in several Nordic countries some times even more than in the country of origin.

The Fund supported 27 film productions for young audiences. 19 of them (70%) were in cinemas in more than one Nordic country by the end of 2013.

In this chapter, we will take a closer look into the Nordic childrens and youth films from the local and Nordic perspectives. The last chapter will focus on the international success of the children and youth films. The data is based on the film institutes categorization, which varies a bit between the countries, e.g. in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland the children and youth film category includes also family films.

Children and Youth FilmsIn 2009-2013

33%

Denmark: 46 Norway: 30

Finland: 12 Sweden: 36

Iceland: 6

Total number of children & youth films: 129

36%

9%5%

23%

27%


Finnish Children and Youth Film

Director Mari Rantasilas Ricky Rapper films hold the highest positions at the top 5 local children and youth films. They are also among the top 10 most popular films in Finland. The films are based on Sinikka and Tiina Nopolas childrens book series, whose main character is a lively 10-year-old drummer Ricky Rapper. The Nopolas are also behind the film scripts.

Director Kari Juusonens high-quality animation film Niko 2 - Little Brother, Big Trouble, was the fourth most popular children and youth film in Finland, but it also gathered audience of 61,400 in co-producing Denmark and rose to the second most popular children and youth film in the Nordic region. The reindeer story was also sold to over 70 countries.

An even bigger local hit was the adventure family film, Rolli and the Golden Key, with over 204,000 admissions. Rolli and the Golden Key is the latest in a series of films, TV and audio franchise that have been entertaining children and families over three decades.

Altogether, twelve Finnish children and youth films were released in 2009-2013. Only two of the films had cinema premieres in other Nordic countries Niko 2 Little Brother, Big Trouble and Moomin

Nordic Film Crossing Borders

Documents